To promote fairness, which practice is essential when selecting and administering tests?

• A. Use only English-language tests regardless of client background
• B. Rely on informal impressions
• C. Use culturally appropriate assessments with validated translations and norms
• D. Avoid collecting demographic information

Answer: (C)

Ensuring fairness in testing means selecting assessments that fit the client’s language and cultural background and that have validated translations and norms. When a test is culturally appropriate, items reflect contexts familiar to the client, reducing cultural bias. Validated translations preserve the meaning of questions across languages, so responses reflect the same construct rather than language differences. Norms tied to populations similar to the client allow scores to be interpreted accurately, rather than through a one-size-fits-all standard.

Using only English-language tests regardless of background can disadvantage someone who isn’t fully proficient in English, leading to biased results. Relying on informal impressions lacks the reliability and standardization that scores and interpretations depend on. Avoiding demographic information ignores important context for selecting appropriate norms and identifying potential biases, which undermines fair interpretation.